Peabody holds Greek festival this weekend

PEABODY – Greek culture will be all the rage this weekend as the 32nd Annual St. Vasilios Greek Festival takes over Peabody.The three-day event is “not only a major fundraiser for the Greek community, but also a chance for them to share their culture, music, and fine Greek delicacies with the community at large,” said Parish President Speros Venios.The St. Vasilios Men’s Club has been working hard preparing food sure to satisfy the cravings of the expected thousands of attendees. This year, they’ll serve up to 80 legs of lamb and nearly 600 pounds of both chicken and pork souvlaki (little skewers).”The committee has been working very hard over the last four months preparing for the festival,” said Speros, noting that much of the food served was made possible through solicited food donations.For the past month, the Ladies Philoptochos Society has been baking homemade pastries, including kourambiedes (small almond cookies), finikia (honey-walnut cookies), and the fan favorite, loukoumades, which are deep fried balls of dough covered in honey and walnuts.Live Greek music and dancing will entertain guests as they munch on their favorites foods. Mousiko Xefantoma will perform tonight, The Makredes Ensemble will take the stage Saturday, and Peabody’s DJ Christo will spin tunes all weekend long.The dance group Panagia Soumela of Boston will showcase their talent on Saturday evening at 7 p.m. and the Hellenic Pride Dancers will have their turn Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m.New this year is the event’s first Senior Citizens Day, which offers seniors $2 off their meal all day Sunday.”We felt this would be a great way to encourage seniors to attend the festival,” said Venios. “The greater the community participation, the greater the success of the event.”And to encourage young families to attend as well, the children’s activities area will be bigger than ever before featuring games, contests, and amusement rides.More than 15 vendors are expected to offer various items up for sale including clothing, jewelry, religious items, artworks, and authentic Greek collectibles.The Greek community in Peabody is one of the largest in New England and includes nearly 1,600 families.The festival originally began in the mid-1950s and was called The Greek Bazaar. It took place at the Northshore Mall when it was an outdoor shopping center until 1976, when the Church was renovated and the kitchen completed. Members decided to hold the festival there instead, which has been the case ever since.The festival kicks off at 5 Paleologos St. today from 5 p.m. to midnight and continues all day Saturday from noon to midnight. It finishes up on Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public.